‘Concessionaire doesn’t have the right to collect toll from commuters’

The Delhi-Gurgaon expressway is a big trouble spot. As the mayor of a city, which has a population of more than 20 lakh, every day I get representations from individuals, resident welfare associations (RWAs) and sarpanchs of villages.

The Delhi-Gurgaon expressway is a big trouble spot. As the mayor of a city, which has a population of more than 20 lakh, every day I get representations from individuals, resident welfare associations (RWAs) and sarpanchs of villages.

This shows that people are unhappy with the toll plazas. My colleagues experience the actual trouble while travelling from one village to another by crossing the toll. We will give a representation to Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, requesting him to remove the toll at the earliest.

Our biggest concern is that the problem of traffic snarls at the two toll plazas has never been solved despite repeated interventions of courts and people’s protests. On the contrary, the condition of the 18-km stretch has gone from bad to worse. The main carriageway and service roads between Rajiv Chowk and Kherki Daula plaza are dotted with potholes. This portion of the expressway is causing trouble to nearly 10lakh commuters who use the service roads.

Why hasn’t the concessionaire - the Delhi Gurgaon Super Connectivity Limited (DGSCL) - fixed these problems till now? Why are the commuters being made to shell out money if they have to wait in long queues? The concessionaire has failed to address many issues and it does not have the moral right to collect toll from commuters at all.

However, our aim is to help find a solution. We have been closely examining the concessionaire termination case under trial in Delhi High Court. We wish the Haryana government brings relief to Gurgaon residents. We are ready to extend all moral and financial support to the Haryana government and the NHAI, if needed. The concessionaire has been just focused on minting money, unmindful of the problems faced by commuters. Earlier, we had raised the issue with successive Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon commissioners. We have taken up the issue with Haryana Urban Development Authority administrator also.